Maui Community College student is one of five in the United States to earn Patsy Mink scholarship

HONOLULU — Maui Community College student Laycie-Ann Tobosa is one of five students to be selected for a Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation for Low-Income Women and Children scholarship. The Kahului resident received $2,000 from the foundation.

There were more than 500 applications from women pursuing their education, from a GED (high school equivalency diploma) to a doctoral degree. The other four recipients are in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Tobosa, 22, is a senior in the bachelor of applied science degree program in applied business and information technology (ABIT) at Maui CC.

"I just feel really blessed to have been chosen to receive this scholarship," Tabosa said. "Especially for an independent student like myself, it means a lot."

Tobosa works for a Wailuku lawyer and is the sole provider for her mother and two younger siblings. The Baldwin High School graduate aspires to become an entrepreneur. She is also the founding president of Maui CC‘s Rotaract Club — a service organization, under the auspices of Rotary International, for students and young professionals. She said she‘s passionate about the two-year-old, 10-member group; people can e-mail rcomcc@hawaii.edu to join.

Selection criteria for the Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation scholarship include being a woman at least 17 years old; a mother with a minor child; and enrolled in a skills-training, English-as-a-second-language or GED program, or pursuing a technical, vocational, associate, first bachelor‘s, professional, master‘s or doctoral degree.

The award also has an income requirement: an annual family income of less than $16,000 for a family of two, $20,000 for a family of three or $24,000 for a family of four.

Established in 2003, the Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation aims to carry on some of the late congresswoman‘s top commitments: educational access; support and opportunity for low-income women, especially mothers; and educational enrichment for children. For more information about the foundation, visit www.ptmfoundation.net.

Applications for 2008 awards will be available in the spring, with completed applications to be submitted from May 1 to July 1.